


Architecture of My Heart

by DerivativeLiteracy



Category: Original Work
Genre: College, College Life, Cross-Generation Relationship, Gay, M/M, OC, Original Characters - Freeform, Original Fiction, Romantic Comedy, School Life, Smut, architecture, light - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:02:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27019234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DerivativeLiteracy/pseuds/DerivativeLiteracy
Summary: Mr. Garcia has become your adviser for the year. You've heard of him before as a notorious professor at school, as well as a figure in Architecture but you don't really know much so you don't mind. Apparently, he has an eye for talented students like you.





	1. Mentor

It's your first day of 3rd Year and you're slightly excited for what new things are coming your way this school year. You've had consistent high grades and positive feedback on your plates last year, you think that maybe you can participate in an exhibit now; or maybe even start your own. You think about all these things as you wait on your seat for your professor.

  
9AM strikes, and the bell sings, the door swings open, and a man in a turtleneck sweater with a duffelbag enters the room.  
"Hello, everyone." he says in a moderate and crisp tone, his deep voice filling every corner of the room. Everyone else but you seems to be in awe of the man in front of you while you sit there eager, yet clueless. He speaks again, "So, today I'll be talking about the new mentoring program the school wishes to implement this year... And then you'll be off to your regular classes. This is...?"  
"AR3." the girl to your right responds.  
You raise an eyebrow.  
The man nods and proceeds to take out a macbook from his bag, "Okay, so, there's no real need to introduce myself right now because I'm just here to orient you, but judging from the looks on your faces, you already know me."  
The class chuckles collectively while you sit there still puzzled.  
"Now... The new mentoring program of the school assigns each section different advisers per group of three to five students—well actually that also depends on who mentors you, but anyway, yes you will be assigned an adviser for your thesis and internship. That means, your adviser will carry on even until Fourth Year."  
You bring out a notebook to start taking down notes as he starts talking about the mechanics and technicalities of the new mentoring program. The girl to your right looks at you condescendingly and leans in towards your ear, "You know he doesn't like it when you're distracted like that. He prefers if you just listen,"  
You give her a look.  
"If you were really paying attention, you wouldn't need to be writing anything down." she whispers as she sits back upright on her seat.

That's Janice Sanchez. The real sipsip of the batch. You don't even know why she has to be that way when her grades aren't even bad. It probably has something to do with her parents being recognized engineers for Ayala, but she doesn't have to be so rude all the time. She's pretty, and smart. What the hell could she be compensating for??

"Any questions?" the man asks. He looks your way, and your eyes lock for a good 3 seconds then he smiles at you.  
"None, sir!" Janice responds quickly after noticing... Clearly trying to impress him.  
"Alright then. Thank you for listening. See you when I see you. Your schedules and mentor assignments are outside at the 5th floor." he says in an audible yet calm tone. He leaves the room as the students shuffle to wear their bags. Janice walks up to you.  
"I'm watching you (y/n)," she squints, "you're my competition now. I saw that little fiasco earlier with sir."  
"I don't know what the hell you're talking about, Janice. Get out of my face." you clapback and turn around to head down to the 5th floor. You have better things to do than to pick fights with a teacher's pet.

You arrive at the 5th Floor and walk over to the announcement board. You swim through an ocean of students to find the list for your block AR3, you look for your name along with your blockmates. You scroll down the list with your eyes.

**SECTION AR3**   
**MENTOR PROGRAM**   
**THESIS:**   
**SANCHEZ, Janice Denise C.**   
**MONTOYA, Robert Miguel V.**   
**(y/n)**   
**Mentor: Manolet Garcia**   
**Meeting at 3PM.**

"Oh wow, really? Of all the people? Janice?" you say to yourself with an annoyed tone.  
"Keep friends close, and enemies closer! Mwah."  
You look behind you, and it's Janice smiling at you menacingly. You roll your eyes. You look at the next part of the list.

**SECTION AR3**   
**MENTOR PROGRAM**   
**INTERNSHIP:**   
**(y/n)**   
**Adviser: Manolet Garcia**   
**Meeting at 10:30AM**

"Wow. Of all people, you?" the same taunting voice again from behind.  
"Yes, Janice, apparently, it's me. Boohoo." you respond sarcastically.  
She scoffs. "Lucky draw. Don't waste it."  
She was obviously jealous. She walks out of the crowd.  
You chuckle. What was the big deal anyway? Mr. Garcia has just been someone you knew because apparently, he's a well-known professor at school; people talk about him. In the industry, it sounds like he's in-demand or something. You just see his name on the school newsletter anyway.

It's 10:17AM already so you head over to his office. He has his own office separate from the other professors. That's how special he is.  
When you get there, there's a sticky note on his door:

_I'm at my exhibit!!!! Come see me there instead. We can talk there. 12th floor!! :)_

You let out a quick exhale through your nose because you just simulated how climbing an additional 3 flights of stairs felt. You take the note and get going.  
When you enter the exhibit area, it seems empty. The place was like a maze, filled with avant-garde boards placed eccentrically around the area. You figured he would be here because he was attending to guests, but it seems you're the only one here spinning around.

"Looking for me?" a familiar voice filled the space.

You do a full 180 and see him at the far corner of the room.  
Him??? He's Manolet Garcia??? The guy who oriented us earlier??? That was already him?? NO WONDER Janice was being a bitch.

"O, what's wrong? It's like you've seen a ghost. Come here."

You walk towards him and everything feels like slow motion.


	2. Mean Girls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You finally come face to face with Mr. Garcia.  
> A trio shows up at your table.  
> You learn more about your mentor.
> 
> * * *

He's looking at you right in the eyes with a subtle smirk like he caught you doing something stupid. With each step closer, the tension grows. All this time, you haven't been taking this man seriously, and he just had to be your internship mentor; one-on-one! How feisty fate must be to play this game with you. He throws his hands up and shrugs, "Nice to see you. You were the one in front of the classroom earlier, right?"  
You nod slowly.  
"You're so tense, ha. Relax!" he says cheerfully as he pats your shoulder.  
"S-Sorry, sir. Just a bit nervous... Sorry about a while ago..." you say softly. It doesn't help that his warm hand is still on your shoulder.  
He tilts his head, confused.  
"Ah because I was writing while you were explaining and—"  
"Ah," he butts in, "because I looked at you?"  
"Yes..."  
"Oh, don't worry about it! Ano ka ba... I like that."  
Now YOU'RE confused, "So...?"  
"That's why I smiled when I looked at you." he reassures you in a warm tone.  
You let out a sigh of relief and have a laugh.

Janice that bitch.

He pats you on the shoulder again, and starts talking about how the mentorship will go. This time, his hand isn't resting on your shoulder anymore.  
"So, I'll be your adviser for your thesis and internship," he started, "since you're in Third Year, our thesis advising will only be ten to twenty percent of this year, and the latter is dedicated to advising for the internship. That's because this year will be mostly dedicated to your internship, so we gotta prepare for that."  
You nod in response, yet paying more attention to the way he talks. His diction is clear, you can feel the confidence in the way he speaks, and his voice is crisp with a solid bass that isn't too deep. You're totally mesmerized. No wonder he gets invited to talkshows, and podcasts often. Listening to him is effortless!

"For your internship, I can help you find a place to apply in," he continues, "a firm, or a small company, or you could even work for me if you like. But one thing is for sure, we'll work on your portfolio, and I'll take good care of you. Okay?"  
You're stuck in eye contact for a second until you realize he's stopped talking already, "O-Okay, sir!"  
He chuckles softly, "Alright. That's it for now! Go na to your next class. Hope I didn't take too long."  
"No sir, it's alright! Thank you for doing this!" you tell him while walking backward.  
"It's my job. No worries. See you again later!" he waves and smiles at you watching you exit the area on your way to your next class.

As you sit in your LIT301 class, you can't help but think of how THE Manolet Garcia became your adviser. Of all people, it had to be someone you didn't care to know about. How ironic. But now that he is going to be in a significant part of your college life, the pressure starts to creep up on you. On one hand, his mentorship means that you have an edge, on the other, maybe you won't hit his standards just yet. You shake that thought out of your head.  
"Okay, (y/n) this isn't the time to be pessimistic. We've gotten this far. We'll join an exhibit."

The bell rings, it's lunch time. You shuffle to pick up your bag, then you hear a familiar voice call your name. You ignore it and head for the cafeteria. Thank goodness the school has a prepaid food stub system because you don't feel like deciding on your lunch too hard today.  
You pay for your meal at the counter and sit at your usual spot.  
"Hey." it's the same voice from earlier. A tray is set down in front of you across the table.  
With a heavy breath, you reply, "What do you want, Robert?" You look up slowly to meet eyes with him. He's still stocky, but the gym membership has been paying off, so it's safe to say he isn't lazy anymore. It suits his height too.  
"We're partners—"  
"Groupmates."  
"—for the thesis mentorship, right?"  
You don't answer stupid questions.  
"...Well I was hoping to warm up with one of them so it isn't awkward later?"  
"You don't have to, Robert. It won't be."  
"No it's okay. I was thinking—"  
"You were thinking... NOTHING. Scoot," a girl interrupts him and shoos him away, "get your own table, meathead.  
"Or else what?" Robert gets tough.  
"Or else I'll show you your strength training ain't shit." a queer walks up to Robert from behind the girl.  
Robert shakes his head and leaves, "See you later (y/n)." he says, annoyed.

"Perfect timing." you say in relief.  
"Always, sis."  
"Yeah only when I need saving."  
Her companion laughs, "Grabe, no naman. We're fashionably late."  
You shake your head and chuckle.  
"Just be grateful Nikita and I showed up." he jests to lighten the mood.  
You reply sarcastically with a smile, "Okay, thanks, Ian."  
He laughs. "I know you love us, (y/n)."  
"Yeah, sorry dear. We were just dismissed late," Nikita followed up, "So how's your first day?"  
"Okay, well, Mr. Garcia is apparently my adviser for thesis AND internship."  
They suddenly pause eating and look at you.  
"...Manolet Garcia?" you follow.  
"No fucking way," Nikita exclaims, "you have got to be the luckiest one in your batch!"  
"What the hell is the big deal? Everyone tells me that," you reply, "...Everyone being Janice, and you two."  
"Us three, and literally everyone else! He's like, top professor here, and he's SUPER nice!"  
"And a daddy." Ian adds.  
You chuckle and roll your eyes, "Oh my god, Ian."  
"What? It's true! He's hot!"  
"Yeah he is pretty handsome for his age, huh?" Nikita agrees.  
"Why, how old is he?" you ask.  
"Forty-six." she answers.  
Wow he doesn't look like it. He looks 40.  
You just nod slowly realizing these facts.  
"I bet Janice is real jealous of you." says Ian.  
"Uh, yeah, actually she's my groupmate for thesis advising."  
Nikita bursts into laughter, "With Robert??"  
You nod awkwardly.  
"Jesus, (y/n). You have the weirdest twists of fate," she replies, still laughing, "your life is far from boring I can tell you that. It's like you're in some kind of novel."  
With a blank face you say, "Are you done?"  
Ian gives Nikita a look, then looks at you, "Give her some time."  
You widen your eyes and chuckle as you finish your food.  
"Okay, i'm good. Laughing is great."  
"So how's fashion?" you ask.  
"Eh. Pretty dull. All our majors are tomorrow. Just minors today." Ian answers. "The mentoring program orientation is tomorrow too." Nikita adds.  
"Wow. Good for you. No pressure on the first day," you chuckle, "I got my hands full already."  
Nikita points at you with her fork, "Don't worry about it. Like I said, at least your life isn't boring."  
"Yeah okay fine good point. Anyway, I got class at 1, and another meeting with Mr. Garcia at 3."  
Ian teases you by cooing. You laugh and shake your head, "Crazy. Gotta go! Thanks again!"  
"Bye, babe! See ya." Nikita waves at you, and Ian blows you a kiss.


	3. Trap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your first encounter as a group finally starts.  
> An old flame returns and burns just a little too much.  
> A lucky twist of fate turns into a realization.
> 
> * * *

After class, you head over to Mr. Garcia's office. Janice tags along.  
"Hey." she greets you in a menacing tone.  
You roll your eyes.  
She notices your unresponsiveness. She nudges you, "Just wanna say we're still in the same mentoring group. You're not that special."  
"Yeah, okay Janice." you forced yourself to reply.

Both of you arrive at his office and he greets you both with a warm smile.  
"Hello, hello! Miss Sanchez?" he asks.  
"Yes." she replies with such an excited grin.  
"And, (y/n)!" he continues.  
You nod, "Yes, sir."  
He sits you two down on the chairs in front of his table, "I believe we still have one more?" he says as he sits at his table.  
Janice is quick to answer, "Yeah, si Robert pa po, Montoya, sir." Treating everything like a competion... You don't even want to say his name, let alone answer.  
Robert suddenly arrives like Janice's answer was his cue. You suddenly regret not sitting beside Janice because now you have to be next to Robert, but it's better than being between them.

The orientation begins.  
Mr. Garcia introduces himself, and mentions each of your last names, and asks to introduce yourselves briefly. After, he begins to explain how this group mentorship will work. While he's explaining, you examine the interior of his office. He sits on a mobile, fancy, leather armchair that spins. His desk is wooden with a glass panel, a paper organizer and pen holder on one side, trinkets and accessories on the other, and his glass nameplate on front. He has his own miniature fridge to his right, and a water dispenser to his left. The whole floor is carpeted and his office overall wields a cool pantone. As Mr. Garcia gets into the distinct details of the thesis mentoring program, you bring out the same pen, and notebook.  
Janice notices, "Mr. Garcia don't you think it's better that we're not distracted while you're talking?" she says while looking at you.  
He turns his eyes on you, while you glance at Janice, then exchange eye contact with Mr. Garcia again for a split second.  
He gives Janice a look of surprise, "Well Miss Sanchez, I think it's also nice if you take notes. It's not really a distraction if you listen while writing."  
"Oh... Alright sir, I see." she did not expect that.  
You smile while facing your notebook.  
"Anyway." Mr. Garcia continues when you notice Robert has been looking at you for the past few minutes already. You move your chair a bit farther, and listen to the rest of what your adviser has to say.  
"Okay, that's a wrap! See you every Tuesday and Friday." he says as he sends the three of you off.

* * *

It's 4:30PM and you still have one last class until 6:30PM.

Your phone vibrates.

**_Nikita_ **   
_Hey! We'll come over at 8!_   
_Food's on us see ya! xx_

Seeing that text gave you a sigh of relief. Now you have a much more exciting reason to get home early. The final bell finally rings, and you reply to Nikita while walking out the classroom to tell her class just ended.

Most of the corridor lights of the 7th floor were already turned off since it's already pretty late. Suddenly, you bump into someone. You apologize and look at who you bumped into.  
"I wanna talk." he said quietly.  
"There's nothing to talk about, Robert." you strafe and try to get through.  
He catches you by the shoulder and shoves you towards the corridor wall.  
"No, don't avoid me. I said I want to talk." his tone shifted from quiet to hostile.  
You push him back, "Yeah? Well I don't. Fucking move!"  
He pins you to the wall by the shoulder. Hard enough that the side of your bag hits the cement behind you, making your pen fall out of a pocket.  
Robert leans in closer to you with eyes that don't speak kindness. "You've been ignoring me the whole day," he says, "what, you're tough now?"  
"I'm not answering to your bullshit anymore!"  
You struggle a bit. The pressure on your shoulder is starting to hurt you. Robert puts his other arm over your head.  
"Come on, (y/n)... I love you. Let's talk this through. Give me another chance." he suddenly sounds like he's pleading.  
"No fucking way. After what you did to me last year?"  
He leans in, "I know you love me."  
You spit air onto his face, "Over my dead body."  
He chuckles, "Your dead body huh?" He wraps his free hand around your neck, "Say that again. I dare you."

A door suddenly opens, and the sound of footsteps come towards you two.  
"Hello?" a familiar voice echoed.  
You cough, and thanks to adrenaline you shove Robert off of you, and head straight for the person at the other end of the corridor.

As if by instinct you just fall onto their body and catch your breath.  
"(y/n)? Are you okay?" Mr. Garcia's gentle voice greets you.  
You clutch onto his arms, and inhale a mouthful of his perfume when you try to lift your face off his chest and gasp for air.  
His arms were firm and toned, his chest was puffy, and good thing he was tall or else you wouldn't have something to lean on.  
You look up at his face, and realize that it's only a few inches away from yours. You flinch and shuffle back to maintain a professional distance.  
"S-Sorry, sir..." you say, catching your breath. Confused, he looks behind your shoulder, "Are you okay?"  
"Y-Yeah... just... surprised to see you."  
He nods slowly, "I thought I saw you with someone, eh."  
"Ah, no... Uh... I thought I saw a ghost," you chuckle, "don't scare me like that, sir."  
He gives you a worried look. "I'm not... But if you're okay na, then good." he says nicely. He approaches you and puts his arm around you, "Come on. Let's go... Baka the ghost will follow pa."  
You chuckle a bit. You feel nothing but safety. The fear from earlier dissipated like nothing even happened.  
You both arrive at the 3rd floor to log out. There's a new rule that says students with classes past 6PM should log out. There have been instances of missing things, and this makes tracking easier. You reach for your bag and notice your pen is missing.  
"Here." Mr. Garcia hands you his.  
"Oh. Thank you." you reply.  
Once you finish logging, he asks you, "So (y/n), you going home na?"  
"Yeah. I have friends from Fashion Design coming over at 8."  
"O, it's 7:26 na."  
Oh shit.  
"Omg okay I have to get going then!" but before you even move, "Come on, i'll take you there." he says.  
You hesitate, "What? No sir it's okay my dorm is near lang."  
"Yeah, exactly. I'll take you there. I have a meeting in Mandaluyong pa. I'm sure your dorm is on the way."  
You're caught off guard, and left speechless.  
He smiles at you.

He's so nice!

It's been 3 seconds so out of pressure you just agree. It would be rude to reject his offer anyway. So you finally tag along and arrive at his car.

You both get in.  
He starts the car and looks at you, "You good?"  
You snap out of your daze, "Yeah!" you respond quickly and smile. Your anxiety? Gone. Like magic.

He smiles back and starts driving.  
"So, do you and Miss Sanchez know each other?"  
"Yeah... We're not really friends though."  
"I noticed. She was trying to get on your nerves earlier during the meeting."  
"Yeah, that's the second time! That's why I was surprised you weren't mad at me for writing in front of you."  
He laughs.  
"Why would I get mad? You're writing down what I say," he says gently, "that's why I said I like it... You're paying attention to me." He smiles at you.  
You chuckle, "Well, also, the reason I'm so conscious is because it's the first time I've encountered you. Like, i've only heard you from people around campus, and read about you in the school newsletter. So I didn't really care much... But now, ironically, you're my adviser. So, sorry if I wasn't really aware. I feel like i'm being disrespectful."  
Mr. Garcia stops at a red light. He looks at you and smiles.  
"You know... That's actually okay," he says, "that means you're treating me as I am. On a daily basis, i'm like a celebrity to people, but with you it's like i'm an ordinary person again. Nothing wrong with the attention, it's just refreshing."  
The stoplight turns green.  
"At least you remind me that I'm not at my best," he continues, "I can only keep getting better. So, no, it's not disrespectful. It's more humbling to me."  
You're in awe with his answer. You're not speechless because you don't have an answer, there's just nothing to say. The 'Great Manolet Garcia' that everyone perceives, is just another person as well. Instead, you just look at him with a hearty grin, and he does the same.  
"Kita mo, you don't try to impress me. You just mind your own business and do your best," he says, "I'm getting tired of people trying to impress me."  
"Oh, like Janice."  
"I didn't say anything, ha."  
You both laugh.  
"But you know, I've seen your plates from Second Year," he says eagerly, "they're good, you're good. I've heard good feedback from the other profs as well."  
Your eyes widen, "Really?? They talk about me??"  
"Yeah. You've got potential."  
You get nervous and pensive all of a sudden.  
So does he know about what happened last year?  
"Hey, I'm gonna U-turn. Where do I drop you off?"  
"A-Ah! Maple Green Towers." you snap out of it again.  
"Oh, sakto. It's on the way nga." he chuckles.  
After the U-turn, he stops right at the entrance of your dorm.  
"Okay. Here you are."  
He faces you and holds out his hand.  
You look at his hand, then his eyes, and then back at his hand.  
You're not sure what to do. Things seem to be happening so fast and unexpected. Nikita was right. You're life **_is_** like a novel!  
You place your hand on his hesitantly. It's warm, and soft, but totally the feel of a man's hand.  
He raises an eyebrow and laughs, "...My pen."  
"OH." you exclaim embarrassed, and snatch your hand away, frantically searching your pocket for his pen and returning it to him.  
His laughter tells you it was fine. You ease up a bit and join him.  
"Okay, well, thank you Mr. Garcia. This was really nice. Gotta go now. Take care!"  
"Bye, have fun!" he says waving with his fingers as you leave his car. You close his car door, and you wave as he drives off to his meeting. You smile and make a huge sigh of relief. So you didn't leave a bad impression after all. That was a good bonding session. Now you know you're on good terms with him.

You turn around to walk to your dorm's entrance when you see two people exit the 7Eleven next to your dorm entrance.

It's Nikita and Ian! You raise your hand to call their attention.

Ian greets you, "Hey, you! We thought you were upstairs already."  
"Yeah, perfect timing. Doesn't your class end at 6:30?" Nikita says.  
"Yeah, but something came up. I'm good now though," you reply, "come on let's go up. You guys won't believe what happened today."


	4. Tea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nikita and Ian come over, and you tell them what happened.
> 
> * * *

"He WHAT!?" Ian exclaims as he pours you a glass of Sprite.  
"Yeah, he took me home." you said.  
"So you're telling us you got in his car, and got here... via his car?"  
"Yeah, oh my God." you roll your eyes.  
Ian and Nikita squeal on your bed. You come back from the fridge with more ice.  
"Nikita, honey. Our friend here is a daddy magnet."  
She points at Ian and smiles. Her mouth is full.  
"Daddy magnet? Really? How many have I attracted?"  
"Mr. Garcia counts as all the daddies, (y/n)," Nikita answers, "He's like... Daddy supreme."  
You scoff, "Whatever. You're right though. He's super nice."  
"He's super fucking nice!" she replies.  
"I hope he's fucking." Ian butts in.  
Nikita bursts into laughter.  
"Ian!?" you say astonished.  
"Is he top or bottom?"  
"Oh my god!" you hit him with a pillow playfully.  
Nikita laughs harder.  
"What??? Don't tell me nothing happened in that car." he says jokingly.  
She starts to tone down, "Holy shit you guys. I love this show."  
You answer Ian, "Uh... Well I held his hand,"  
Their eyes widen.  
"BY ACCIDENT."  
"Who the—? Bullshit, (y/n)! Who the fuck holds someone's hand by accident?" Nikita answers.  
Ian picks up a bag of chips and munches on some, "Him?"  
"He was asking for his pen! I borrowed his pen because I lost mine at the seventh floor."  
Sarcastically, "So you held his hand?" replies Ian.  
"He just held it out! How was I supposed to know? It happens in the movies!"  
"Oh, so you like him?" Nikita teases you.  
You look at Nikita and suddenly pause.  
Ian chuckles, "Robert's gonna be jealous."  
"Oh my god, bitch. Don't say that!" Nikita slaps Ian's arm jokingly.  
"Yeah, actually, about Robert... He cornered me at the seventh floor earlier after class."  
The two suddenly freeze.  
"The cleaners turn off most of the lights past 6PM, and he caught me at the corridor." you continue, "it was kinda dark so that was an opportunity for him. I didn't expect it anyway."  
Your friends' faces went from playful to worried.  
"He kept saying he wanted to talk, and when I tried to leave, that's when he threw me against the wall and pinned me. My bag hit the wall too and I heard my pens fall."  
"Oh my God what did you do?" Nikita asked.  
"I tried to resist of course, but he's stronger than me. He said he wanted to be with me again, and that he loves me—"  
"Oh my God, bullshit!" Nikita couldn't hold her comment in.  
"—He kept trying to force it by saying he knows I love him too, but I don't. I told him he was getting back with me over my dead body, and that was when he tried to choke me."  
Nikita got up the bed furious and groaned, "Then he fucking tries to kill you!?" she grips the air, "I'm gonna fucking kill him!"  
You look at her but continue, "Luckily that was when someone showed up. I got to push Robert off me and went straight for whoever that was, and good thing it was Mr. Garcia."  
Nikita looks at you in relief, yet still evidently annoyed.  
"...And that's how he brought me home." you finish with a light tone.  
Ian places his hand on your arm, "Darling you better tell the dean."  
"No... I don't want another scandal..."  
"Yeah that's right I'll deal with him." Nikita yells, cracking her knuckles.  
Ian reassures you, "Look, if you need us, we're a call away."  
"Yeah I know I can count on you two." you say relieved.  
Ian calls for a group hug, and you all embrace together on your bed.  
The bonding continues throughout the night, with more food, drinks, and laughter.  
It eventually turns into a sleepover, and you remain happy and safe for the rest of the night.  
True friendship never goes out of style.


	5. Man of Your Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're up late thinking about Mr. Garcia.  
> Uncanny how you'll be with him for half of the day tomorrow.
> 
> * * *

A week has passed, and everything has begun to flow as normal. All the orientations are over, and workload has begun. Your thesis meetings are on Tuesday and Friday, while your internship mentoring is on Wednesday and Thursday. It's Wednesday night, and you're in bed contemplating. You think about Robert's persistence, your plans for the year, and most importantly... Mr. Garcia. Yes, you've wondered why he's been in your head for a week. Maybe it's the plates, maybe it's the mentorship, maybe it was that night, maybe it was when you held his hand by accident. You think to yourself, "Don't be ridiculous, (y/n). You probably like him because he was your 'savior' at the moment. He's just nice. Heck, you can't like him because he's a prof! ...He won't like you back regardless."  
You fight with your thoughts seamlessly as time goes by. You shake your head from time to time, and grunt and chuckle thinking of all the A to Z's of every circumstance.  
You look at the time. It's 2:17AM now, and you still have a 9AM class, but your mind is restless. You laugh sarcastically and wipe your face. "Why is this even bothering me???" you groan.  
You finally get to sleep around 3AM when you decide to think that this is all meaningless.

Your alarm at 8AM rings and you wake up immediately. You slept lightly, and 5 hours of light sleep felt like a 5 minute nap. You get up, and prepare for the day anyway despite being groggy. Coffee was your companion for the day.  
It's 1PM and you arrive at Mr. Garcia's office for mentoring.  
He greets you a good afternoon with his signature warm smile, and you smile back and wave with your fifth cup of coffee in your hand. You take a seat and set out your pencil case, ruler, and paper. Mr. Garcia's table was big enough for you to work on it with him. The focus for this session was perspective and furniture studies, as well as floor plan composition. You get to work on your sketches, and studies as Mr. Garcia watches you while typing on his macbook. From time to time, he would correct your perspective, and make suggestions on ways to improve your sketches, then go back to working on his laptop.

After 3 sketchbook pages, you take your final sip of coffee and sigh deeply as you put down your empty cup. The sound of the hollow cup tapping on the glass panel catches your mentor's attention.  
He peeks at you from behind his laptop, "You done?" he asks.  
You nod, "Yes, sir."  
"And your coffee?"  
You nod again.  
"That's not your first, no?"  
"It's my fifth."  
"Knew it," he chuckles, "you look so puyat. What time did you sleep?"  
"I think around... 3AM?" you reply sluggishly.  
"My God! Wow. Are my plates too much?" he asks concerned.  
"Ah, no. Just been thinking a lot lately..." you reply.  
"About?"  
"About... School so far," you followup quickly, "I know it's just been a week, but I also want to excel and I don't know if i'm doing my best."  
He folds his laptop, sets it aside, and leans forward to listen to you.  
"I mean, I don't feel it, but it must be the pressure of having you as my mentor. You're so good, so I feel I need to catch up and meet your standards..." you continue, "I don't want to disappoint you so I want to meet your expectations."  
The truth is, you feel the pressure. He's looking you right in the eyes, but you avoid it by looking at his desk name plate instead. Ironically, it somehow still feels as if you're looking at him.  
"Hey," he starts to speak softly, "(y/n)... Look at me."  
You raise your head to align your eye contact.  
"You know what? You don't need to think so much. Like I said, you're good, you're talented. Don't feel that way as if i'm expecting so much from you. I expect you to work, and to do well. You're doing it," he smiles, "You won't be in front of me if I didn't think you could do it. That's why I chose you."  
You knit your eyebrows.  
"Yes, we can choose," he grins, "Don't tell anyone."  
He winks at you.  
You gape in awe and look around the room starstruck and flattered. You feel your heart beating. The feeling you have cannot be put into words, but it's a combination of surprise, joy, flattery, and relief all in one. It makes you want to do backflips and cartwheels in every corner of his office. In fact, it even woke you up a little.  
He watched all of that process on your face. For 5 seconds.  
He laughs, "I mean it."  
You laugh back, and snap back to reality, "Th-Thank you, sir..." you respond meekly with a smile on your face.  
He resets the mood.  
"So do you want more coffee, or do you wanna take a break?" he asks.  
You look at the time. It's half past 4.  
"Actually, I was going to ask if I could take a nap."  
"Oh! Yeah, sure. You can sleep there." he points with his mouth, "on my sofa."  
You turn to look at the sofa behind you, then turn back to thank him. You stand and walk up to it, then fall onto it like a tipping tree chopped by a lumberjack. Your face lands exactly on his sofa pillow. It smells like him. It makes you feel safe and cozy. You make one big sigh, and fall asleep instantly.

* * *

Mr. Garcia takes off his glasses, stretches from his seat, yawns, and looks at the time on his wall clock. It's 6PM. He stands, and walks over to you to wake you up. He puts his hands on his hips, looking at you sleep while he thinks of a way to wake you up. You're on your side facing him, sleeping like oil on water.  
He squints.  
He leans over and reaches out slowly to caress your hair, but then he hesitates, quickly pulling his hand back to his chest. He looks around awkwardly thinking of another way, with a bewildered look on his face.  
Finally, he decides to just hold your arm and shake you with a few pats.  
You wake up to Mr. Garcia leaning over you, his face from yours at forearm's length.  
"Hey," he says gently, "good morning, (y/n). Time to wake up."  
You take a deep breath, and move immediately, yet sluggishly to sit up. Mr. Garcia straightens his posture.  
You rub your eyes, "What time is it?" you ask him.  
"It's six." he replies.  
Your eyes fully open from astonishment.  
Wow, already?  
"Sorry... I'd let you sleep here longer, but I have a meeting at 6:30." he adds with a rather sad look on his face, as if he bothered you to wake up.  
"Ay no, it's okay sir. I understand." you get up calmly and walk over to his table to collect your things.  
"Bye, sir! Thank you! See you tomorrow!" you wave goodbye as you walk out of his office.  
He waves back with a warm smile, "Take care going home!"  
You smile back, and get going.


End file.
